New Age and Relativism

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Can someone give me a few examples of how New Age philosophies and Relativism is perverting Catholic philosophies?
 
From: the Pontifical council for culture; Pontifical Counsel for Interreligious Dialogue

We have:

JESUS CHRIST THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE: A Christian reflection
on the “New Age”

Here is what is “new” about New Age. It is a “syncretism of esoteric and secular elements”.(16) They link into a widely-held perception that the time is ripe for a fundamental change in individuals, in society and in the world. There are various expressions of the need for a shift:

– from Newtonian mechanistic physics to quantum physics;
– from modernity’s exaltation of reason to an appreciation of feeling, emotion and experience (often described as a switch from ‘left brain’ rational thinking to ‘right brain’ intuitive thinking);
– from a dominance of masculinity and patriarchy to a celebration of femininity, in individuals and in society.

In these contexts the term “paradigm shift” is often used. In some cases it is clearly supposed that this shift is not simply desirable, but inevitable. The rejection of modernity underlying this desire for change is not new, but can be described as “a modern revival of pagan religions with a mixture of influences from both eastern religions and also from modern psychology, philosophy, science, and the counterculture that developed in the 1950s and 1960s”.(17) New Age is a witness to nothing less than a cultural revolution, a complex reaction to the dominant ideas and values in western culture, and yet its idealistic criticism is itself ironically typical of the culture it criticizes.

…

2.2.2. Harmony and Understanding: Good Vibrations

Phenomena as diverse as the Findhorn garden and Feng Shui (23) represent a variety of ways which illustrate the importance of being in tune with nature or the cosmos. In New Age there is no distinction between good and evil. Human actions are the fruit of either illumination or ignorance. Hence we cannot condemn anyone, and nobody needs forgiveness. Believing in the existence of evil can create only negativity and fear. The answer to negativity is love. But it is not the sort which has to be translated into deeds; it is more a question of attitudes of mind. Love is energy, a high-frequency vibration, and the secret to happiness and health and success is being able to tune in, to find one’s place in the great chain of being. New Age teachers and therapies claim to offer the key to finding the correspondences between all the elements of the universe, so that people may modulate the tone of their lives and be in absolute harmony with each other and with everything around them, although there are different theoretical backgrounds.(24)
 
On tumblr, a social networking site, I stumbled across this:

Stay faithful or stay single: A Rebuttal (closed vs open relationship)
One of the worse assumptions in the West is the systematic thinking of “pairs,” “us vs. them,” “this or that,” “black & white,” “good or bad.” Open relationships are another option for some people. I think many people give open relationships a bad name. Some people are less jealous and envious. There’s a whole different set of ethics involved with open relationships that is neither right nor wrong. Of course, all members of an open relationship have to be open minded, honest, and good on communicating with each other for it to work. And I think it can be successful more than we think it can be.
Click to expand...
Code: 
Stay faithful,
Stay single.
Stay open.  
…All are viable options.
Click to expand...
Of course this person is an atheist. He also had this to say
I’m getting better about being more open about this. But it’s sad that many of us are afraid to be open about the truth. People can often get disowned by their families for being honest about their lack of belief of god/s. In ancient Greece, it was capital punishment for not believing in the gods. I guess I (and thousands of others) are lucky to be living in a time we don’t have to be so afraid despite living in the exceptional BS pockets of the world. For me, my world grew much larger and more beautiful when I got rid of my belief in an imaginary idea. The world is missing out.
Click to expand...
on morality:
for morality is the mind not f_cking religion. Religion is invented by man not some supreme being, Im an atheist and i have morals, do you know why? because im not a f_cking psychopath. F_cking study the mind, study psychology and you can learn about morals. Your “god” didn’t invent morals, the humans that recorded their moral beliefs in your “holy book” created the morals you believe in. go f___ yourself you self-righteous piece of _____.
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I am unsure of any New Age philosophies that pervert Catholic doctrines but some New Age philosophies include things such as: reincarnation (this is a part of many Eastern and Oriental religions such as Hinduism as well), that every single person is a “god”, etc.
 
There can be a lot said about New Age ideas but to me it is all summarized in “there is no such thing as bad”. It means everything can be seen as good for you, but you just have to see it that way.

For example, if you feel that there is no god, then that’s ok, whatever appeals to you.
Or if you feel that money is what is important, then that’s ok, whatever fits into you scheme.
Or … or …

Live your life and see everything as something you may use to make you feel happier.
If you like church, do it.
If you like atheism, do it.

There are a lot of complicated names and ideas, but the jist of it is, “be happy” and select what you want to make this happen, whether objectively good or bad. Make that round peg fit by seeing that round peg as square.

Just a thought.
 
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